Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to wolf-whistle

to wolf-whistle

1 7.8
To make a loud sound with your mouth to show you like someone in a sexual way
  • verb
  • /wʊlfˈwɪsəl/
  • Offensive
: silbar a
  • As they walk, Kate attracts stares, wolf whistles, and rude comments from some of the patrons.
  • give a wolf-whistle

I mean, do you know, I grew up with sort of builders wolf whistling out of vans.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The men who wolf-whistle out of moving cars at me if I'm wearing tights?

    Blog text (9)

  • There's a wolf whistle from overhead, and applause, causing Elsa to curtsy to her admirers.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Behind Glenn, someone let out a wolf whistle.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I mean, do you know, I grew up with sort of builders wolf whistling out of vans.

    andrew gold | heretics.

  • When she joined Noah at the elevator fifteen minutes later, he gave a long wolf whistle, then kissed her cheek.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • One step into the room and a long, loud wolf whistle from across the room announced to all and sundry that there was something very eye-worthy out tonight.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Bates watched the boy walk away, to an accompanying wolf whistle from across the room; then he took out his wallet and placed his payment and his own generous tip on the dish with his check.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Now Della stood in line, intending to order both roast beef and chicken salad, when she heard a wolf whistle and turned to see Trish waving her over.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Scrambling up, she brushed at the seat of her black jeans and, with barely a pause to shake her hands free of snow, rushed inside to be met by applause, several wolf whistles, and a "Way to go, Bree!" The last was from a trucker, one of the regulars.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • As she walked past the construction site, the men couldn't help but wolf-whistle at her beauty.

How Sexual

to catcall
  • Offensive
1 7.7
to wolf-whistle
  • Offensive
1 7.8

Surface Forms

wolf-whistle infinitive
wolf-whistled past
wolf-whistled past participle
wolf-whistling present participle
wolf-whistles third person singular

Morphology

wolf-whistle = wolf whistle (semi-transparent) = wolf + whistle

The verb is a zero-derived use of the noun 'wolf whistle', and the compound meaning is only partly predictable from the literal senses of 'wolf' and 'whistle'.

Etymology

The word wolf-whistle comes from calling a man a wolf, which means 'a man who shows sexual interest', and from a long two-note whistle that people said sounded like a wolf's call. So to wolf-whistle is to whistle at someone to show sexual interest, something many people now see as rude.